Acquired: from Ottawa for a conditional draft pick, then signed to a two-year contract extension at $5 million per season.

Key stat: Gonchar ranks 18th all-time among NHL defensemen in scoring with 775 points (217 goals, 558 assists). He ranks 33rd in games played at 1,177.

He said it: “My priority at this stage of my career is to really have a chance to win every night. I just don’t want to sign and be somewhere where you make your money and you be happy. The most important reason I signed with Dallas is they are going to improve the team, and they are going to do whatever it takes to make that next step.”

Did you know? Pittsburgh Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin thanked Gonchar in his acceptance speech as MVP in 2012. Gonchar served as a mentor for Malkin when Malkin first came to the United States.

The question that lingers is whether he got it right. The first reviews will come Thursday as the Stars open their regular season at home against Florida.

Nill was named general manager in April and within three months had the team restructured. He added three new centers, a No. 1 defenseman, a backup goalie and a potential rookie of the year candidate. With each decision, you can find a reason to be optimistic. With each decision, you can see potential failure.

It’s the life of a GM, but one that Nill is embracing strongly.

“I think you have to move with confidence and with quickness, and that’s what we’ve tried to do here,” Nill said. “We identified some very clear needs, and then we addressed them with players who we think solve those needs.”

One of the first things Nill decided when he took over the team was that Jamie Benn needed to move back to the left wing. Benn had been playing center for the past three seasons, a move that former GM Joe Nieuwendyk believed would pay high dividends in a strong two-way game for the big forward.

However, Benn had struggled on faceoffs and defensive coverage, so Nill decided to see if the Stars could upgrade not only the No. 1 center spot in those areas, but also the top wing spot by returning Benn to the goal-scoring glory he enjoyed during his junior hockey career.

Most fans felt that Nill would need two new centers to pull this off, and the Stars hadn’t been able to get even one in recent seasons. Then, in a matter of days, Nill found three. He traded for Tyler Seguin and Rich Peverley from Boston and acquired Shawn Horcoff from Edmonton.

The cost in youngsters and players was high — Loui Eriksson, Reilly Smith, Matt Fraser, Joe Morrow and Philip Larsen — but Nill felt the payoff was perfect. Seguin is 21 and filled with skill. He and Peverley are right-handed and should help improve a Stars team that finished 27th in the league in faceoff winning percentage last season.

Horcoff is a bit of a bigger risk, as he’s 34 and struggled in Edmonton last season. He also carries an average salary of $3.5 million, which limits some future options for the Stars.

But Nill reshaped the entire forward group just like that.

“I’ve always felt that you need depth at center,” Nill said. “One, it’s an important position, and two, it’s easier to move from center to wing than it is from wing to center. Depth at center gives you options.”

On the back end, he didn’t do quite as much restructuring. Adding 39-year-old Sergei Gonchar could be a Hail Mary search for a No. 1 defenseman, but Gonchar played almost 24 minutes a game last season for Ottawa, and Nill has history with Nicklas Lidstrom, who maintained an All-Star level until he retired at age 42. Still, it took a two-year deal at $5 million a season to get Gonchar to sign, and that can definitely be seen as a risk.

Less costly were backup goalie Dan Ellis and top draft pick Valeri Nichushkin. Ellis is a bargain backup but doesn’t have the pedigree Stars fans were hoping for. Nichushkin is a big (6-4, 205) skilled winger who oozes raw talent but needs polishing at age 18.

So can Nill and coach Lindy Ruff mold these players into something better, something that can break a five-year playoff drought? Nill said that while the selection process was quick, the execution process will take all season.

“The great thing about the people we have is that they know there is work to do and they’re willing to do that work,” Nill said.

And while Nill will admit there is risk to his redecorating, he’ll say it is managed risk. He knew exactly what he was looking for, and he went out and found it.

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